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Orlando Magic: 3 reasons the Nuggets wouldn’t have swept them in 2009

By Luke Duffy

DENVER - JANUARY 17: Referees Mark Wunderlich #18 and Mark Ayotte #56 move in to seperate Dwight Howard #12 of the Orlando Magic and Nene #31 of the Denver Nuggets after Nene was called for a foul on Howard during NBA action at the Pepsi Center on January 17, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
DENVER - JANUARY 17: Referees Mark Wunderlich #18 and Mark Ayotte #56 move in to seperate Dwight Howard #12 of the Orlando Magic and Nene #31 of the Denver Nuggets after Nene was called for a foul on Howard during NBA action at the Pepsi Center on January 17, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Larry W. Smith-Pool/Getty Images) /

2. The Magic’s defensive play

With the roster built around Howard’s generational talents, it is no surprise that the Magic had the best defensive rating (101.3) throughout that regular season. It is unfair to grade the Nuggets in this area because they were seen as more of a high scoring team. Still, they ranked an impressive eighth in this category themselves (105.6).

They could get stops too, just not the way the Magic could. Again the Howard factor here is obvious, but guys like Lewis and Turkoglu were just so big for their position and capable of moving with their man both inside and outside of the paint, that they created the kind of wall around the basket that kept the Magic in every game.

Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic /

Orlando Magic

Interestingly enough, the gap between the two on the offensive during the regular season is not as great as you would think either. The Nuggets ranked seventh (109), with the Magic only two spots behind in ninth (108.3). Looking at these numbers alone would suggest the Magic were more capable of getting stops than the Nuggets and almost as good at scoring too.

How the Nuggets could have hoped to sweep a Magic outfit capable of doing one thing better than anybody in the league and another almost as good as their opponents in this hypothetical series is hard to fathom. Where Anthony may have a point is because the Nuggets had the best offensive rating in the postseason (115.5), while the Magic’s defensive rating slipped to fourth (104.9).

Had the Nuggets actually met the Magic though, there is no doubt that their scoring output would have taken a hit because all signs point towards this being the case. The two teams split the season series, winning in each other’s arenas. The Magic blowing out the Nuggets in Denver, 106-88, on the second night of a back-to-back and having beaten the Lakers the night before.

The Nuggets won a 82-73 rock fight in Orlando a month later, and it is ironic that the methods in which both teams won those games is the opposite to how they played much of the season. The Magic by having a big scoring output (they were on the cusp of playing like we see today with a lot of 3-point shooting), while the Nuggets won by keeping the Magic to a low score. These two are even enough, no way this would have been a sweep.

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